Jets' defense has become a weak link this season, especially late in games
Sauce Gardner #1 of the Jets reacts against the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium on September 29, 2024. Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Defense had been the Jets’ strength the past several seasons, but it’s become a weak link this year.
The Jets held leads in the fourth quarter of the last three games. All they needed was a stop, but they lost all three after the defense failed to get one with the game on the line.
That slippage is just one of many reasons the Jets are 3-10 and won’t be in the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season. For the playmakers on that defense, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.
“We take pride in not giving up points, in executing,” D.J. Reed told Newsday after practice Thursday. “It’s definitely painful. It’s frustrating. It’s not just me who feels this way.
“This has been my toughest season just with the expectations coming into this year, the guys that we got, the talent that we have in the locker room. To have a record of three and whatever is crazy, to be honest.”
There is plenty of frustration felt throughout the Jets’ locker room and among the coaches. Reed said the Jets are not executing the plays that are being called late in games. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, who also is the defensive coordinator, said the defense’s struggles are on him.
“It’s unfortunate and that ultimately points the finger at myself that I got to get it coached better,” Ulbrich said.
When Zach Wilson was the quarterback and the offense struggled to score in previous seasons, the defense’s mentality was that it had to shut down teams to give the Jets a chance to win the game.
This season, the Jets are scoring more points with Aaron Rodgers running the offense. Now the defense is letting leads slip away.
The Jets have scored 27, 21 and 26 points in their last three games. They have allowed 28, 26 and 32.
“I know if we had this offense that we have now and we played nearly as good a defense as we played the last couple of years, man, we’d be chilling right now,” Sauce Gardner said. “It’s not where I imagined we were going to be this year.”
Gardner intimated that all the weapons the Jets have on offense might have led to the defense getting a little complacent.
“Maybe we got too comfortable having all those guys, all those playmakers on offense to the point where we’re not filling up our end of the bargain,” he said. “That’s just what I feel.”
By no means has the Jets’ offense been the greatest show on turf. In some games, it has looked like last year’s team. But the Jets were 5-2 last season when they scored at least 20 points. This year, they’re 3-5 when scoring 20.
“It’s not where I imagined we were going to be this year,” Gardner said.
The Jets will play in Jacksonville on Sunday. The Jaguars have the NFL’s worst defense, so the Jets could put up enough points to end their four-game losing streak. But the drop-off in play — especially after Robert Saleh was fired following a Week 5 loss — has been evident.
At the time, the Jets ranked second in total defense and fifth in points allowed (17.0). In the eight games since, the Jets are 19th in total offense and have allowed an average of 26.9 points, the sixth-most in the NFL.
“For whatever reason, when the offense has scored points the defense, we’ve let up points,” Reed said. “I don’t know what it is, but I just know that complementary football wins football games.”
Still high on Ruckert
Jeremy Ruckert has only 14 catches — and had a bad drop last week against Miami — but tight end coach Ron Middleton said the Jets still have “the utmost confidence” in the Lindenhurst product.
“We think he’s a good player,” Middleton said. “He’s going to be an even better player.”
Middleton said Ruckert made a good read on the pass that he dropped but just lost focus.
Said Middleton, “I still say the kid can catch a BB in the dark.”
Two-minute drill
Breece Hall (knee) did not practice again and is trending toward missing his second straight game . . . Davante Adams (rest), Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), Reed (groin), Brandin Echols (shoulder) and Kene Nwangwu (hand) didn’t practice . . . Haason Reddick returned after missing Wednesday’s practice with an illness.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
